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Register a new userFinal Results from phase II of the Mainz Neutrino Mass Search in Tritium $beta$ Decay
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The paper reports on the improved Mainz experiment on tritum $beta$ spectroscopy which yields a 10 times higher signal to background ratio than before. The main experimental effects and systematic uncertainties have been investigated in side experiments and possible error sources have been eliminated. Extensive data taking took place in the years 1997 to 2001. A residual analysis of the data sets yields for the square of the electron antineutrino mass the final result of $m^2( u_e)=(-0.6 pm 2.2_{rm{stat}} pm 2.1_{rm{syst}})$ eV$^2$/c$^4$. We derive an upper limit of $m( u_e)leq 2.3$ eV/c$^2$ at 95% confidence level for the mass itself.
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The paper reviews recent experiments on tritium beta spectroscopy searching for the absolute value of the electron neutrino mass $m( u_e)$. By use of dedicated electrostatic filters with high acceptance and resolution, the uncertainty on the observable $m^2( u_e)$ has been pushed down to about 3 eV$^2$. The new upper limit of the mass is $m( u_e) < 2$ eV at 95% C.L. In view of erroneous and unphysical mass results obtained by some earlier experiments in beta decay, particular attention is paid to systematic effects. The mass limit is discussed in the context of current neutrino research in particle- and astrophysics. A preview is given of the next generation of beta spectroscopy experiments currently under development and construction; they aim at lowering the $m^2( u_e)$-uncertainty by another factor of 100, reaching a sensitivity limit $m( u_e) < 0.2$ eV.
The investigation of the endpoint region of the tritium beta decay spectrum is still the most sensitive direct method to determine the neutrino mass scale. In the nineties and the beginning of this century the tritium beta decay experiments at Mainz and Troitsk have reached a sensitivity on the neutrino mass of 2 eV/c^2 . They were using a new type of high-resolution spectrometer with large sensitivity, the MAC-E-Filter, and were studying the systematics in detail. Currently, the KATRIN experiment is being set up at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany. KATRIN will improve the neutrino mass sensitivity by one order of magnitude down to 0.2 eV/c^2, sufficient to cover the degenerate neutrino mass scenarios and the cosmologically relevant neutrino mass range.
We propose an experiment intended for search for an admixture of sterile neutrino with mass m$_s$ in the range of 1-8 keV that may be detected as specific distortion of the electron energy spectrum during tritium decay. The distortion is spread over large part of the spectrum so to reveal it one can use a detector with relatively poor (near 10-15%) energy resolution. A classic proportional counter is a simple natural choice for a tritium $beta$-decay detector. The method we are proposing is original in two respects. First, the counter is produced as a whole from fully-fused quartz tube allowing to measure current pulse directly from anode while providing high stability for a long time. Second, a modern digital acquisition technique can be used in measurements at ultrahigh count rate - up to 10$^6$ Hz. As a result an energy spectrum of tritium electrons containing up to 10$^{12}$ counts may be collected in a month of live time measurements. Due to high statistics an upper limit down to 10$^{-3}$..10$^{-5}$ can be put on sterile neutrino mixing at 95% CL for m$_s$ in the range of 1-8 keV, that will be 1..2 orders of magnitude better then bounds published up to now.
The GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment searched for the lepton-number-violating neutrinoless double-$beta$ ($0 ubetabeta$) decay of $^{76}$Ge, whose discovery would have far-reaching implications in cosmology and particle physics. By operating bare germanium diodes, enriched in $^{76}$Ge, in an active liquid argon shield, GERDA achieved an unprecedently low background index of $5.2times10^{-4}$ counts/(keV$cdot$kg$cdot$yr) in the signal region and met the design goal to collect an exposure of 100 kg$cdot$yr in a background-free regime. When combined with the result of Phase I, no signal is observed after 127.2 kg$cdot$yr of total exposure. A limit on the half-life of $0 ubetabeta$ decay in $^{76}$Ge is set at $T_{1/2}>1.8times10^{26}$ yr at 90% C.L., which coincides with the sensitivity assuming no signal.
The interference of charge-changing interactions, weaker than the V-A Standard Model (SM) interaction and having a different Lorentz structure, with that SM interaction, can, in principle, produce effects near the end point of the Tritium beta decay spectrum which are of a different character from those produced by the purely kinematic effect of neutrino mass expected in the simplest extension of the SM. We show that the existence of more than one mass eigenstate can lead to interference effects at the end point that are stronger than those occurring over the entire spectrum. We discuss these effects both for the special case of Dirac neutrinos and the more general case of Majorana neutrinos and show that, for the present precision of the experiments, one formula should suffice to express the interference effects in all cases. Implications for sterile neutrinos are noted.
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